Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Rob’s Rants: Summer 2016 So Far

It’s
been an interesting summer so far. I’ve been in a pool regularly for the first
time in decades, and I haven’t cycled much at all after seven years of hitting
the Schuylkill Trail almost every week during the warm weather.

And
after trying to get away from blogging, I’m pulling a George Costanza and doing the opposite as I consider jumping back in. I haven’t written a Rob’s
Rants in almost four years, when I was still complaining about Andy Reid
throwing the ball too much on my Philly sports blog. It was always a fun post
to write—and hopefully to read—so I thought I’d try an edition with various
subjects.

Here’s
my rapid fire reaction to a few things that caught my attention so far this
summer:

I
read Bill Lyon’s series in the Philadelphia Inquirer on his experiences
living with Alzheimer’s disease. Growing up reading Lyon’s sports columns was
my introduction to great newspaper writing, and he’s still the measuring stick
by which other columnists are judged. Reading his series is bittersweet. I
welcome the chance to read his words again, and marvel at his willingness and
ability to share what he’s dealing with. Yet, having watched my dad go down
hill with early onset dementia, I’m saddened knowing what awaits Lyons. Still,
it’s more than worth reading.

Ben
Affleck appeared on the debut of Bill
Simmons’ HBO show and dropped the F-bomb every five seconds in an effort to be
. . . edgy? I’m guessing. I haven’t had HBO since the last time Verizon screwed
something up and gave it to us for free, but I can’t imagine watching this
show. Simmons never worked on ESPN—certainly not on their NBA coverage. Besides
that, two Boston guys crying because Tom Brady actually got penalized—oh, wait,
he didn’t yet—for trying to steal another Super Bowl has to be the dumbest way
ever to debut a national sports show.

Except
for a mention that I voted in the primary, I haven’t discussed politics on
social media since the first election of President Obama. It was too toxic for
a guy trying to pull people into reading his blog and eventually books. But . .
. Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump? That’s our choice for president? What
the F-bomb, right, Ben? I feel like we’re in some deleted scenes of Back to Future II where the future got
all screwed up because Marty altered the space-time continuum. Don’t forget,
2015 was the future in the trilogy,
and they’ve been campaigning at least since then.

Like
everyone else, I’ve had terrorism and the recent news about more black men
dying in altercations with police catch my attention this summer. The attack on
police in Dallas and the violence in a gay night club in Orlando was just as
horrible. I don’t know what to say about it. I think those words, I don’t know, need to be said by a lot
more people. I do notice a few things. Whenever I see cops trying to keep the
peace during protests on the news, I see black, white, Hispanic, and no doubt
other races, in uniform. It makes me think things can improve. Then I see #whiteprivilegemeans
on Twitter. And then I wonder if we
actually want to live together peacefully—I think most people do—or if we just
want to keep the rhetoric going. In some ways, I think the issue needs to come
out of the political conversation. I’m tired of newscasters waiting on Clinton
and Trump to tweet after the latest attack. It trivializes these issues
somehow. Otherwise, I hope some smart people who are far away from Twitter are
finding answers.

If
you follow the disability conversation on Twitter, it’s tough to miss
#CriptheVote. As I understand it, the hashtag is meant as a non-partisan effort
focused on disability in politics. I haven’t joined in with a tweet, but often
read the hashtag with interest. I’ve noticed some tweets (not from the creators
of the hashtag) pushing the idea of people with disabilities as a voting bloc.
With so much diversity among people with disabilities—not just the nature of
disabilities and accompanying issues, but also other forms of diversity
(political affiliation, issues not related to disability, etc.)—I wonder if that’s
possible or even desirable. Although, other groups would seem to have some of the
same issues. Learn more about the hashtag on the website of one of the
creators, Andrew Pulrang.

I’ve
only latched onto two new shows in what has been a weak summer TV season. I’m
fading fast on Feed the Beast. I like
the David Schwimmer character, Tommy. He’s opening a restaurant while mourning
his wife and caring for his son, T.J. (Elijah Jacob), who hasn’t spoken since
watching his mother get killed. I suppose some would put Andre in the category
of a disabled character, but I’m not quite ready to do that. However, having
gone to school with a kid who chose not to speak, I’m curious to see how these
characters develop. Unfortunately, Tommy’s partner, Dion (Jim Sturgess), constantly
subverts the potential success of the other characters with one blatantly dumb
decision after the other. Just out of prison, Dion’s dealing with a drug
addiction and surrounding issues. Typical of summer shows, constant tension is
packed into every episode, with Dion being the main facilitator of problems. I
just think it’s forced, and overwhelms the rest of the story too often.

I
actually have less to say about American
Gothic, which is a mystery centered on a wealthy family that has come
together for the funeral of the father figure. An old investigation into a
serial killer has gained traction, and viewers are periodically lead to believe
different family members are the guilty party with new episodes. It’s not
overly compelling, but it doesn’t go overboard forcing drama and the promise of
a resolution at the end of the summer keeps me watching.